County Courthouse project scaled back

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

After weeks of trying to find a way to replace lighting and the HVAC system in the Van Wert Courthouse, the county commissioners have reluctantly decided to scale back the project to nearly its original scope.

The commissioners met with architect Bruce Miller of Garmann/Miller on Tuesday on a project first proposed by County Common Pleas Judge Charles D. Steele. The project, which then was merely to renovate the Common Pleas Court area later was expanded to include the entire third floor of the Courthouse, and later the entire Courthouse.

But reality set in on Tuesday, when the numbers showed that, even using the benefits of House Bill 300 — which allows governmental entities to borrow money for energy-saving projects — the county was still going to have to come up with nearly $400,000 to complete the job.

With the county’s budget situation, that figure was just not doable, said Commission President Thad Lichtensteiger on Tuesday.

“We just couldn’t get down to a tolerable number,” he said, further noting that the project will return to a third-floor renovation project.

The county plans to reject the current project bids and seek new ones, with a bid opening set for early March and, hopefully, awarding those bids in mid-March.

Lichtensteiger said the project still includes funding from Judge Steele in the amount of $345,000, but added the commissioners would still have to contribute at least $100,000 in county funds to complete the job.

County officials are also hoping Miller can design a third-floor HVAC system that would be expandable in the future, if funding becomes available to renovate lighting and HVAC systems in the rest of the Courthouse.

If bids come in within estimates, the work would start in April and last several months. During that time, Common Pleas hearings would be conducted in the Juvenile Courtroom, while trials would have to be held in Van Wert Municipal Court, because the Juvenile Courtroom has no jury box.

Also Tuesday, the commissioners had planned to discuss security in the lobby of the County Annex building. Mel Nomina, who takes care of technology projects for the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Department, had been scheduled to meet with the commissioners to provide information on what it might cost to provide security cameras in the lobby, but had to cancel because of health issues of a family member.

Lichtensteiger said the commissioners want to beef up security in the area, especially since there have been drug deals and other less-than-savory activities going on in the lobby.

“It’s a huge black eye for us,” Lichtensteiger said. “It’s an embarrassment (and) we’re not going to tolerate it.”

Plans are also underway to have local law enforcement K-9 units patrol the area occasionally, in addition to security cameras. Lichtensteiger said that, if the cost of the system would be in the neighborhood of $1,000, the county Furtherance of Justice Fund would likely pay for it.

The commissioners also held a public hearing Tuesday on the Van Wert Solid Waste Management District annual plan. There was no opposition to the plan.